October 2017 Green Fire Times by Sun Publishing

News & Views

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Growing a Regional Food System

THE SEEDS OF RURAL RESILIENCE October 2017

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Vol. 9 No. 10

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Green Fire Times • October 2017

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Vol. 9, No. 10 • October 2017 Issue No. 102 PUBLISHER

Green Fire Publishing, LLC Skip Whitson ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Barbara E. Brown

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Seth Roffman DESIGN

News & Views

from the

sustaiNable southwest

Winner of the Sustainable Santa Fe Award for Outstanding Educational Project

CONTENTS NourishmeNt iN every Form aNd iN every seasoN — alejaNdro lópez . .. . .. . .. . .. . 7

COPY EDITOR

FertiliziNg the Future oF acequia Farmers la cosecha de los sembradores — NicaNor ortega . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 9

WEBMASTER

stayiNg power: Foodcorps—New mexico — leiloNi begaye .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .11

Green Fire Production Department Stephen Klinger Karen Shepherd CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Leiloni Begaye, Leigh Caswell, Kendal Chávez, Mallory García, Helga García Garza, Helen Henry, Alejandro López, Juan López, Cydney Martin, Nicanor Ortega, Pam Roy, Seth Roffman, Julie Sullivan, Mark Winne CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Seth Roffman, Alejandro López, Gabriella Marks, Lisa E. Powell PUBLISHER’S ASSISTANTS Cisco Whitson-Brown, Steve Jinks, Gay Rathman ADVERTISING SALES Call: 505-471-5177 Email: Info@GreenFireTimes.com

red willow ceNter: 1st aNNual iNdigeNous Foods experieNce . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .11 rooted iN love: a Film, a Farmer, a movemeNt . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .12 albuquerque public schools: 80 gardeNs — mallory garcía . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .15 the most importaNt word iN “commuNity gardeNiNg” is Not ‘gardeNiNg!’ — mark wiNNe .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .16 growiNg a resilieNt regioNal Food system — julie sullivaN .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .18 New research oN the power oF Food system iNvestmeNts to boost regioNal ecoNomies . .. .19 what are Food policy couNcils? — pam roy .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .20

John M. Nye 505.699.3492 John@GreenFireTimes.com

bread wiNNers aNd bread makers: saNta Fe womeN aNd Food . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .23

Skip Whitson 505.471.5177 Skip@GreenFireTimes.com

ideas For cookiNg aNd NutritioN/supplemeNtal NutritioN assistaNce programs — cyNdey martiN .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .25

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wheN aN apple a day is Not eNough — juaN lópez.. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .27 the agri-cultura Network .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .27 healthy here mobile Farmers’ market. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .27 berNalillo couNty aNd kids cook! lauNch “Füdrr” healthy liFestyle competitioN . .. .29

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c/o The Sun Companies P.O. Box 5588, SF, NM 87502-5588 505.471.5177 • info@greenfiretimes.com © 2017 Green Fire Publishing, LLC Green Fire Times provides useful information for community members, business people, students and visitors—anyone interested in discovering the wealth of opportunities and resources in the Southwest. In support of a more sustainable planet, topics covered range from green businesses, jobs, products, services, entrepreneurship, investing, design, building and energy—to native perspectives on history, arts & culture, ecotourism, education, sustainable agriculture, regional cuisine, water issues and the healing arts. To our publisher, a more sustainable planet also means maximizing environmental as well as personal health by minimizing consumption of meat and alcohol. Green Fire Times is widely distributed throughout northcentral New Mexico as well as to a growing number of New Mexico cities, towns, pueblos and villages. Feedback, announcements, event listings, advertising and article submissions to be considered for publication are welcome.

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book proFile: saNta Fe Farmers’ market cookbook.. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .31 Newsbites . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 15, 37 what’s goiNg oN . . .. . .. . .. . .. .38 ON THE COVER

This corn grown at Taos Pueblo, in northern New Mexico, was used to make delicious blue corn bread with blueberries. © Seth Roffman

Green Fire Times • Oc tober 2017

th nual An

C H U R R O

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NOURISHMENT in EVERY FORM and in EVERY SEASON The Succession of Local Sustaining Foods Across a Year’s Time

just finished eating a perfectly ripe apricot that my friend Levi gave me from a tree in his back yard. And what an experience that was! When I bit into it, its soft, translucent orange flesh released a torrent of concentrated flavors and nutrients. I had forgotten what a real apricot tastes like, as opposed to one of those humongous, not quite ripe, often disappointing apricots that come from afar in 10-pack, hard-plastic boxes, selling for at least three bucks at local stores. Biting into that apricot also instantly provoked a stream of thoughts, memories and even emotions. How was it that a single juicy, homegrown fruit was able to spark such consciousnessraising powers? Well, apricots have always been central to my family’s farming life and our table. The fruit my friend gave me not only tasted like the divine, succulent fruit it was, but also like the New Mexican soil where it had been grown and the acequia water it had imbibed. To me, it also embodied the full flavor of summer, family and community, given that during my youth my extended family and I used to pick vast quantities from the arboles de albarcoque at my aunt Genoveva Montoya’s home in El Jardín, near Chimayó. These had been among the happiest of times. As if by magic, the indescribably sweet flavor and special texture of that apricot effortlessly and convincingly transported me to that place and those times.

A rticle and photos by A lejandro López

just for the body alone, but that it had the capacity to nourish spirit, mind and even memory. How could it be otherwise when, not long ago—as certain as the sun rises each morning—people had been an integral part of the local ecology, together with its fauna and flora, of which food-bearing plants were among the most valued?

Comida has the capacity to nourish spirit, mind and even memory.

In a world of locally produced food, the days, weeks, months and years became memorable and significant, primarily in relation to the availability of certain foods. In northern New Mexico, a variety of foods poured forth from field, forest and hillside, as well as from people’s cupboards, pantries and dispensas or granaries if la gente had been wise enough to put away the harvest when it was plentiful. Food and its availability were among the most defining events of the yearly cycle, for in an age in which government assistance barely existed, ensuring sustainable sources of nourishment dramatically increased one’s chances for survival.

While eating the apricot I realized that comida was not

In the depths of winter, people feasted upon the storedup heaps of grains, peas, beans, chile, pumpkins, potatoes,

Verdolagas (purslane) – wild greens

Chicos to be roasted in an horno

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apples, piñón and, of course, carne seca and quesos. By mid-March, however, a bit tired of these staples, people turned their attention to picking chimajá, a variety of wild, tasty celery that, when dried, added to the flavor of the indispensable frijoles de olla. If you loved chimajá, however, you had better be quick and observant, for that diminutive plant was available in the foothills around places like Cuarteles and other lower-altitude communities for only a few days before completely vanishing. In mid-April, people directed their energies to harvesting clusters of asparagus that grew along embankments of the acequias and beneath the ancient apple trees of our orchards. For some reason, the sound of each stalk snapping at its base as my brothers and I picked them brought us unexpressed joy. The delightful process of asparagus picking led to armloads of thick, fresh spears that we took home to our adoring mother. For a couple of weeks each year, the abundant supply became an almost daily staple, in contrast to the occasional delicacy that the thin, store-bought variety is today. Other plants there for the picking included quelites or wild spinach, huanemo (a northern Tiwa word for highmountain spinach), wild onions, verdolagas or purslane and, of course, capulín or chokecherries. These required little effort to obtain but had the potential to enrich every meal. CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Freshly picked sweet peas in the spring

Green Fire Times • October 2017

Nourishment in Every Form continued from page 7 Each was gathered with great care and enthusiasm and subsequently processed, usually by women and children.

NEW SPACE FOR NEW ART

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If people had been prudent enough to sow sweet peas by late February, by mid-May they would be enjoying freshly picked alverjón. In spite of the small size of the individual peas, people did not mind shelling them for hours on end, for they harbored a sweetness and freshness that, after a long, hard winter of relying heavily on calditos, or soups, they yearned for. Besides, the conversations people had while shelling peas around the kitchen table were often as delicious as the peas themselves. It was not long after the alverjón peaked that real fruits in the form of cherries, apricots and then peaches, by mid-July, adorned the tables of the average farmer. If he did not have these himself, he could easily barter or wait until a good friend or neighbor chanced to come by with a bagful. Soon thereafter, the earth busied herself unleashing virtual rivers of cucumbers, string- and faba beans, onions, and best of all, maíz. El maíz was an indispensable crop that could be put away for the winter in large quantities in various forms that ranged from posole or hominy to dried, parched corn, commonly called chicos, from the MexicanSpanish word chicales.

Green Fire Times • October 2017

Meanwhile, on the trees, the apples, pears and plums had also begun to ripen, and for once, the ranchero was at a complete loss as to what to pick first. When all had finally been harvested and put away for the winter, the people only needed to concern themselves with two other of nature’s consumable products that arrived in the late fall—the piñón nut and the flavorful te de cota or cota tea. While it was easy to gather te de cota, twist a handful of its long stalks into a figure eight and let it dry for future use, picking piñón was no picnic, although it might involve one. The pursuit of the minuscule nut usually involved a family outing and a foray into the labyrinthine piñón forests of northern New Mexico. Families almost always took with them storage containers, blankets on which to sit while gathering the nuts, and tarps intended to catch the piñón and the cones when the trees were vigorously shaken.

Food and its availability were among the most defining events of the yearly cycle.

While growing up, I found it curious that whenever a particular fruit or food came into season, one tended to ignore all other foods in favor of that particular one, which we had not eaten in nearly a year. It was significant that during the time of the ripening of cherries or sweet corn, for example, one yearned for nothing more than for large doses of these foods. They were obviously loaded with the very vitamins, minerals, or trace elements that the body most craved, and in quantities that it could assimilate and store. The practice of eating but one kind of food when in season seemed to result in the dramatic refortification of bodily tissues, an increase in chi or the life-force, together with the strengthening of the immune system. Owing to so concentrated a diet of large quantities of organic fruits and vegetables drawn directly from our gardens and orchard, I have rarely succumbed to illnesses of any kind. Celebrated New Mexican farmers, Dora Pacías and Lorenzo Candelaria of Atrisco, in the South Valley of Albuquerque, are known to say, “La comida es medicina” or “Food is medicine.” Soon after the corn harvest, the real avalanche of ripening crops took place in

rapid-fire succession. Delectable green squash always coincided with the ripening of corn so as to facilitate the preparation of what is perhaps northern New Mexicans’ most preferred vegetable dish—maiz con calabacitas. Cucumbers and tomatoes, as well as green chile followed, only to be overtaken by waves of cabbage and root vegetables; and in the department of sweet things, by tons of ripening melons, watermelons and ever-sojuicy clusters of grapes hanging from arbors.

The sometimes epic process, which could include the breakdown of a pickup truck or the inadvertent “leaving behind” of an unsuspecting, distracted family member, usually took place during October and November, before the snows arrived. When snow did arrive, it usually found the families (intact), seated around the warmth of a fogón or wood-burning stove, cracking freshly roasted piñón with their back teeth while telling intriguing stories in the native mexicano speech of the region. Among the most persistent of these stories were those of how previous generations of antepasados or ancestors had managed to cobble a living in this tough, semi-arid highland world by doing any one of a million things necessary to coax from nature her many fine edible gifts—gifts for which people were muy agradecidos or very grateful. ■ Alejandro López is a native northern New Mexico writer, photographer and educator. alej@cybermesa.com

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FERTILIZING the FUTURE of ACEQUIA FARMERS

Los Sembradores Farmer Training Program For many New Mexico farmers, working the land is a sacred duty and tradition. Farmers are needed to irrigate the lands.The land can nourish families, but in order for farmers to be able to make a living at it, they must have access to lands that can be cultivated. When fields are left fallow too long, the owners risk losing their water rights. With these things in mind, in 2017 the New Mexico Acequia Association (NMAA) took over administration of the Farmer Training Program, which had been initiated and run by the New Mexico American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).

The NMAA started by moving the training site to Chamisal, on the Acequia del Monte. Community meals, healthy

eating, value-added products, leadership development and other topics were added to a 10-month, 3-day-a-week curriculum designed to teach season extension, the basics needed to launch a successful market garden, as well as marketing techniques. Donne Gonzales is NMAA’s farmer trainer and manager. Gonzales is a 10-year participant of Sembrando Semillas, NMAA’s intergenerational traditional agriculture program, and also a graduate of AFSC’s Farmer Training Program. In 2017, NMAA’s current program has three apprentices: Nicanor Ortega of Arroyo Hondo (north of Taos), who is also a Sembrando Semillas participant; Matthew Encinias

of Chimayó, and Shane Tolbert, an Abiquiú resident. The ecological, spiritual and economic health of northern New Mexico’s rural, agricultural communities depends on passing on the skills it takes to be a farmer, listening to the land, working in community and problem solving, along with blood, sweat and tears. NMAA’s farmer training program is creating a community of learners who are gaining the confidence to pursue their dreams and inspire others to farm and garden. To apply for the 2018 training or to make a donation to support the program, call 505.995.9644 or email Serafina@lasacequias.org. The NMAA’s website is: www.lasacequias.org ■

Bean field on Nicanor Ortega’s family’s land in Arroyo Hondo, Taos County, NM

LA COSECHA de los SEMBRADORES

Harvest of the Seed Sowers Nicanor Ortega

I couldn’t have asked for better mentors and consejo (advice) to help me grow into the acequiero y sembrador (acequia farmer and seed sower) that I want to be. On any day you could count on someone visiting, helping, or offering professional advice. We built a 48-by-106-ft. high-tunnel hoop– house from the ground up. This took a lot of hard work, sweat and pounding of 20 5-ft. posts into the ground. We gained skills in working with a variety of hand- and

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power tools. Driving self-tapping screws into metal is no joke! This apprenticeship has been challenging, but I have gained a solid platform for how to farm sustainably and work in community. We have covered many topics and have had opportunities to really get our hands and boots dirty. These areas of study and practice will definitely help my farm prosper. Look at all this apprenticeship has to offer a beginner farmer: We learned different acequia systems and even cleaned La Acequia del Monte en Chamisal “Vuelta!” We put together and came to understand drip-system irrigation. We rototilled the ground and prepared it with new and old tools such as el cabador (hoe), finger hoe and hula hoe. We were able to do early season planting where cucumbers, tomatoes and melons were started. Planting, pest control and weeding made up a lot of our daily work. It was very rewarding to be able to harvest and prepare the products for wholesale markets.

I want to farm my acequia land fulltime and contribute by helping support the children of our community. With the life-skills and mentorship I gained this year, I am ready for my next step. I have a better outlook on how I can accomplish my goals. This year north of Taos, in Arroyo Hondo, with la Acequia Atalaya, I was also able to cultivate my own property. I was blessed with an arvejón (peas) crop that was financially rewarding. © Seth Roffman (3)

his year, Los Sembradores farm apprenticeship has been a great experience. I have learned so much about farming and what I want to do with the knowledge I now carry. It has been a blessing to be at Chicoyole Farm in Chamisal. What I like about Chicoyole farm is working and learning with La Familia Gonzales y García, y los vecinos de Chamisal. Together we have enjoyed our days and every unique insight. The laughter we have shared has been very therapeutic for me. With care and respect, la familia Gonzales y García y los vecinos de Chamisal have overcome the challenges of building a farm.

With all the knowledge passed down through New Mexico Acequia Association farmer training apprenticeship, I look forward to the years to come, farming my land and developing an opportunity para nuestra juventud (for our youth). Thank you all for the support and interest in nuestra agua, gente y tradiciones (our

September potato harvest, Chamisal, NM. L-R: Nicanor Ortega, Matthew Encinias, Shane Tolbert and Eduardo Gonzales

water, people and traditions). ¡Qué viva las acequias y que viva el amor sobre nosotros. Qué Dios te bendiga! ■ Nicanor Ortega is a farmer apprentice with the New Mexico Acequia Association. www.lasacequias.org

Green Fire Times • October 2017

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STAYING POWER: FOODCORPS NEW MEXICO

Leiloni Begaye

esiding on Diné bíké’é (the Navajo Nation) in a rural town of 800 people, I did not grow up eating healthy on a daily basis. It never crossed my mind that my family had to travel over 100 miles to the nearest grocery store or how expensive fresh produce was and is to the present day.

Ya’at’eeh shik’éí dóó shidine’é. Shí éí Leiloni yinishyé. Mą’ii Deeshgiizhinii nishłį, Tó’aheedlíinii bashishchiin, Táchii’nii dashicheii, Tł’ááshchí’í dashinalí. Ákót’éego diné asdzáán nishłį.

However, I clearly remember shínalí asdzáá (my father’s mother), my siblings and I would walk down a path to her field and pick wild red sumac berries. Shínalí asdzáá distinguished between what part was edible and what should be left to continue growing. These berries were rich in nutrients and fed the soul.

Another story I recall is shímásání (my mother’s mother), at the age of eight, came across a single potato and, not realizing what was going to happen, cut it into fours and planted it in the soil. She watered the potato, nourished it, and a few weeks later she began to see the potato sprout. In September, shímásání harvested those four potatoes and—little

Just as I learned from my grandmothers, now in the role as third year Fellow (20152018) for New Mexico, I am part of a team that is working towards ensuring the strides we are making in schools and communities will be long-lasting. As a cohort we are building our program for staying power so that these lessons and traditions will be there for years to come.

Kids harvesting lettuce at La Semilla Food Center, Anthony, New Mexico

did she know—she would harvest several pounds of potatoes. For ever y plant that was used, my grandmothers always offered prayers so the plants could be replenished. For every meal prepared a prayer is offered, so we as five-finger beings can be blessed with

RED WILLOW CENTER’S 1ST ANNUAL INDIGENOUS FOODS EXPERIENCE October 19–21, Taos Pueblo and Taos, New Mexico The Red Willow Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization working to revitalize the agricultural heritage of Taos Pueblo. The center, which bridges traditional Native knowledge and practices with the sustainability/self-reliance movement, includes a demonstration farm and farmers’ market. It offers educational opportunities for the pueblo community in health through nutrition, cooking, farming and grassroots economic development. The center is presenting a 3-day Indigenous Foods Experience (Oct. 19–21) that will bring together well-known chefs Karlos Baca of A Taste of Native Cuisine, and Brian Yazzie of the Sioux Chef Network, along with local Native chefs, such as Taos Pueblo’s Henrietta Lujan, to cook and discuss cultural and systemic issues related to food. “We often forget the importance of food,” said Addelina Lucero, the center’s executive

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director. “Food as sustenance is no longer a viable consideration in our communities. The result is evident in rampant obesity and diet-related illnesses.” The first day will include a tour of Taos Pueblo. The chefs will prepare a locally sourced, traditional foods luncheon for the Taos Pueblo Day School children. On the second day, there will be a tour of Red Willow Farm, and then a “Cooking with Community” event where the chefs and the audience will participate in a discussion about food safety, systems, justice and sovereignty in Native American communities. This will culminate in a community meal. Day three will feature a local and wildcrafted foods-tasting luncheon, from 12 to 3 p.m. prepared by the chefs and culinary students. From 6 to 8 p.m. there will be a fundraising dinner to support farm-to-school programs

a good healthy life and healthy bodies. I am not only a Diné woman, relative, or friend but also a mother to two beautiful boys. As a mother, I’m passing down those teachings to my two sons because they’re my legacy. Educating my own children was the first step; next was partnering with

FoodCorps FoodCorps is the leading national service organization working to provide a healthier future for our nation’s children. Our AmeriCorps leaders transform schools into places where all students—regardless of class, race or geography—learn what healthy food is, fall in love with it and eat it every day. Building on this foundation of direct impact, FoodCorps develops leaders, forges networks and pursues policy reforms CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

and Red Willow’s youth programs. The keynote speaker is acclaimed artist and author Roxanne Swentzell (Santa Clara Pueblo), who will discuss her Pueblo Food Experience project. Non-tribal members may attend days one and two for $45 each day, to be paid in advance. The tastingluncheon on Oct. 21 costs $15. The fundraising dinner is $75 (only in advance). The luncheon and dinner will take place at the Farmhouse Café in Taos. Tickets are available through the Red Willow Center or the Farmhouse Café. For more information, call 575.779.7020 or email redwillowfarm15@ gmail.com

Courtesy Red Willow Center

Connecting with the youth through traditional foods and storytelling

schools and reaching as many students as possible. That’s why I decided to serve with FoodCorp, (2014-2015) in New Mexico. As a service member I was able to connect with the youth through traditional foods and storytelling and have my own children listen, learn and lead. It amazes me that no two students have the same story, and I’m even more inspired that, even though our food system has changed tremendously, it connects the youth back to their roots.

Top: Squash grown at Red Willow Farm at Taos Pueblo

Melons grown at Tesuque Pueblo, for sale in front of the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture in Santa Fe

Green Fire Times • October 2017

Staying Power: FoodCorps New Mexico continued from page

that in time have the potential to improve al l of our nation’s 100,000 schools.

Black Mesa Water Coalition collaboration with FoodCorps on the Navajo Nation

ROOTED IN LOVE:

A FILM, A FARMER, A MOVEMENT “Tell me and I’ll forget. Teach me and I’ll remember. Involve me and I’ll learn.” — Benjamin Franklin

Two women with big visions for their community have created an inspiring short film. Rooted in Love, by Taos-based filmmaker Jody McNicholas (Longshotsville, A Wave of Compassion) takes viewers on an eye-opening day in the life of Micah Roseberry, a wellknown northern New Mexico advocate for regional agricultural sustainability. Taos County can be both abundant and harsh. Roseberry has spent more than three decades developing both soil and relationships with community members Micah Roseberry with students in a Taos school garden in the region. She is a farmer, owner of the Farmhouse Café (www.farmhousetaos.com) and founder of the Farm to School lunch program, which currently serves over 600 schoolchildren with fresh, organic meals. Roseberry has also created on-site school gardens, which offer students hands-on educational opportunities. “If children are given the opportunity to eat real food, grow real food and learn to take care of the earth and water, they begin to understand that they can make a difference,” she says. McNicholas’ camera follows the nonstop “Farmer Michah” from sunup to sundown as she sows gardens, prepares and delivers organic school lunches, helps kids make garden-grown kale chips in a solar oven and gives a classroom talk about the importance of bees and butterflies. As the sun sets, shadowed by the majestic Taos Mountain, Roseberry ends her day with a contemplative stroll through the Farmhouse’s Café’s garden. “Sometimes I’m feeling that what I’m working on is going against all odds. I really want to see all these programs move forward, not only here in Taos but all over the country,” she said. Rooted in Love has been an official selection in a number of film festivals. It premiered at the Farm Film Festival 2017 in Favara, Italy. In September it was screened at the Gallup Film Festival and San Francisco’s Food and Farm Film Festival. On Oct. 6, it will be shown at the Awareness Film Festival in Los Angeles. For more information, visit rootedinlovemovie.com

Green Fire Times • October 2017

State Partners The FoodCorps-New Mexico program is co-hosted by Farm to Table-NM and the Universit y of New Mexico Community Engagement Center. Both are nonprofit e d u c a t i o n a l organizations working collaboratively to manage and direct the state FoodCorps p ro g r a m . T h e U N M C o m mu n i t y Engagement Center brings civic engagement, anti-racism and antioppression trainings, and root-cause analysis perspectives to the forefront of our programming. Since 1997, the CEC has been managing the largest campusbased Amer iCor ps program in the Southwest. Farm to Table promotes locally based agriculture through education, community outreach and networking, providing a balanced state vision that equally weighs social justice with hands-on technical skills.

impactful and meaningful. Schools and school districts are where daily farmto-school programming takes place and where real change occurs. The school setting is where the program model of knowledge, engagement and access is facilitated ever y day to improve the overall health of the children and communities we serve across the state of New Mexico. Recruiting Local Leaders We seek to avoid the “parachute problem” of br inging in outsiders who tell traditionally marginalized communities what to do. Accordingly, FoodCorps service members are placed under the direction of local partners, and we strive to recruit service members with a strong understanding of the local context. We know that local leaders are the best fit for farm-to-school programs in New Mexico, and we will continue to foster a state programmatic structure that is welcoming, relevant and meaning ful to local applicants.

FoodCorps develops leaders, forges networks and pursues policy reforms.

State Collaborators T h e Fo o d C o r p s - N M n e t w o r k i s comprised of school-based partners, community-based organizations, academic institutions and producers that strive to collaboratively improve their local and regional food system economies through farm to school work. Our network has evolved strategically over the past six years and is grounded in community-based organizations as key pieces of the puzzle. Community-based partners host the service members for their year of service, playing the pivotal role of supervising, providing guidance and fostering a working relationship between the service member, the state partner team, school based partners and students. They also allow FoodCorps programming that’s rooted in changing school landscapes to connect to wider community issues like food justice, community health, food security, farmer trainings, etc., making our presence more

Professional Development FoodCorps-NM state partners and service site supervisors provide ongoing training and professional development for service members to increase their capacity to build, tend school gardens and teach garden-based curricula in ways that are culturally responsive, innovative and based on local context. Professional de velopment topics inc lude: Ne w Mexico histor y and context, asset mapping, place-based learning, praxis, being an ally in Indigenous communities, storytelling from an Indigenous elder, preparing traditional foods, ser vice learning, social determinants of health, social justice perspectives, root-cause analysis, civic engagement, nutrition, water issues, procurement and cafeteria tastings. ■ Leiloni Begaye’s email address is: leiloni. begaye@foodcorps.org. The Community Engagement Center at the University of New Mexico’s website is: communityengagement center.unm.edu. Farm to Table-NM’s website is: farmtotablenm.org

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ALBUQUERQUE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

80 Gardens Mallory García

school and how they decided to best utilize the garden space they have created.

lbuquerque Public Schools serve s 84,000 students in 141 schools. The district’s schools—elementary to high school—currently have more than 80 gardens. When thinking about these large numbers, it is important to understand that these school communities foster a student body which is uniquely filled with culture and traditions. The same is true about the gardens, which offer opportunities for engaged learning and physical activity while serving to help students understand how healthy food is grown. One way the students’ interaction with the food they eat is fueled through taste tests. Students are invited to try fruits and vegetables that are culturally relevant to where they live and that have historical value in their communities. Connecting students to their own history as well as sharing food, recipes and cooking, elicits positive food memories and helps students make healthier decisions in their diet.

The program teaches how growing food can be empowering and the importance of food sustainability.

APS school gardens provide students opportunities to engage in agricultural practices and, on a small scale, to learn the responsibilities and the impacts of land cultivation. “Students who have school garden programs incorporated into their science curriculum score significantly higher on science standardized based assessments than students who are taught by strictly traditional classroom methods” (Klemmer, Waliczek, & Zajicek, 2005). The garden program not only teaches the technical side of farming but also how growing food can be empowering, the importance of food sustainability and the vital connection between land and culture in New Mexico. APS is currently collaborating with CESOSS (Center for Social Sustainable Systems), the University of New Mexico and Bernalillo County Extension office in developing a New Mexico School Garden curriculum. The goal is to reconnect schools, students, and families with important local

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The next event, a day-long summit, The APS Gathering of the Gardens, is currently being planned. It will feature keynote speakers, workshop tracks for teachers and community members based on experience and need, demonstrations from community members and organizations, and art and projects produced by students themselves. APS school gardens will continue to focus on capacity building through community involvement. Food security and food quality will continue to be important challenges to address for young people. Outdoor classroom education, paired with the harvests of organically and community grown foods, will always be a focal point. The ongoing professional development of teachers is also paramount. The district hopes to expand its community partnerships, and with their support, continue to innovate and educate. ■

Teachers attending a tree planting workshop

community traditions, such as acequias, through gardening. Gardens are also a place of inclusion. Refugee students learning English have greatly excelled by having garden and nutrition classes as a part of their ESL education. Cultural exchange through agriculture has played an important role in helping these young people feel more a part of their school communities while also allowing them to share their identity, heritage and way of life with others. APS school gardens involve families and community partners, providing opportunities for continuous learning, shared resources and the love of food. A study by Habib and Doherty (2000) showed that “68 percent of the students shared what they were learning with family and friends.” This year, APS proudly hosted its first School Garden Crawl, which highlighted two school gardens and one community garden as a way of capacity building and professional development. Teachers, parents, students, school board members and others received information on how to grow and improve their gardens while they networked and toured each unique garden space. The Garden Crawls will continue with a rotation of schools in different learning zones every nine weeks, to coincide with the changing seasons as well as the grading periods. In this way, teachers will be able to teach seasonality and about sustainability. The event is also intended to celebrate the diversity of each

Lavaland Elementary School Garden Club planting greens

Mallory García, a native Burqueño from the South Valley, is a FoodCorps Service Member and the school gardens coordinator for Albuquerque Public Schools. She believes food is medicine and that every garden has the potential to be a powerful outdoor classroom.

STATE OF OBESITY REPORT RELEASED

The Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have released the 14th annual State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America report. The report highlights the ways that obesity—cited as a leading concern by 70 percent of county officials—affects all segments of the population and states that “obesity is a top national priority.” The report also details effective approaches to reducing obesity, particularly among children. The full 108-page report can be downloaded at www.stateofobesity.org. The website also features categories from the report and graphic representations of many of the statistics. Highlights include a Fast Facts section and a summary of rates and trends. An interactive portion of the website allows visitors to click on areas that identify policies in place on a state-by-state basis. New Mexico ranks 33rd in the nation for 2016 with a 28.3 percent adult obesity rate, which represents a stable rate between 2015 and 2016. The report also states, “After increasing steadily for decades, the national childhood obesity rate has leveled off, but it is still alarmingly high compared to a generation ago.” Obesity is associated with increased health risks, and, as such, costs our nation more than $150 billion in healthcare costs annually. One section of the report highlights key obesity-prevention policies, stating, “A range of strategies can help support opportunities for healthy eating and increased physical activity. They focus on making healthier choices easier in people’s daily lives.”

Green Fire Times • October 2017

THE MOST IMPORTANT WORD in “COMMUNITY GARDENING” is not ‘GARDENING!’

M ark Winne

ommunity gardening and urban agriculture play important roles in promoting food security, healthy eating and a sustainable and equitable food system. For those reasons, I’m going to explore three myths that are part of the community gardening conversation.

independent of crowned-kings, moneykings, and land-kings.”

I was asked to give this year’s keynote at the American Community Gardening Association Conference in my old hometown of Hartford, Connecticut. This is an excerpt from that speech.

Fast forward to the present, and we see food policy activity and community farming and gardening going gangbusters. The Santa Fe City/County Food Policy, one of 250 such councils nationwide, worked with the City of Santa Fe to craft a cutting-edge urbanagriculture zoning ordinance.

Myth Number One: Community gardening nurtures human tranquility and oneness with nature. Myth Number Two: urban gardens and farms will feed a hungry world and create a slew of good-paying jobs. Myth Number Three: Gardeners and farmers exist in such a singular state of purity that they can float above the political fray and never engage with public policy.

Three myths that are part of the community gardening conversation

But early one June, a gardener discovered a large woodchuck had taken up residence inside the garden and was munching everything he could get his little paws on. The men mobilized immediately. Three volunteers located the furry interloper’s points of access and egress and stood watch with hoes and shovels at the ready. The leader, carrying a gasoline canister, found the chuck’s main entrance and filled it with petrol. Yelling, “Fire in the hole!” he dropped a full book of lit matches into the now saturated warren, sending a fireball 20 feet into the air. The singed, but still agile chuck darted for his life from one of his exits, only to be greeted by shovel-wielding gardeners who—plowshares now turned into weapons—soon dispatched the poor fellow in a most unsavory manner. Man’s dominance over nature was restored, and all tranquility came to a grinding halt. A recent New York Times article stated that, “If you’re a human being living in 2017 and you’re not anxious, there’s something wrong with you.” According to T, 36 percent of girls and 26 percent of boys between

Let’s dispense with the first myth— the supernatural power of community gardening to assuage the anxieties of modern life. When I lived in Hartford, I was a member of a community garden that sat on the banks of a small river and adjoined meadows that were home to cardinals, orioles and bluebirds. The riverbanks were alive with muskrats, skunks and the occasional lettuce-eating deer.

Cleveland’s food policy council played a critical role in revamping that city’s zoning practices to support community gardening and the raising of chickens and bees. They worked to provide financial support for urban farms, and to change the city’s food procurement practices to give premium pricing to food produced in the city.

Garden in Santa Fe County

the ages of 13 and 17 suffer from anxiety disorder. For adults, anxiety fuels marijuana purchases that are now a $6.7 billion industry. Those who voted for Trump did so because they were anxious; those who did not are now extremely anxious. Now more than ever we need to reaffirm the paradisiacal qualities of community gardens by slowing down to sniff the zucchini blossoms, take a Zen walk along garden paths, and savor the deliciousness of the productions of the earth. Myth Number Two: Community gardening and urban agriculture will feed a hungry world and create lots of jobs. First, let’s be clear about the causes of hunger and food insecurity. They are poverty, which is itself fueled by America’s enormous wealth—and income disparities. Poverty won’t be altered by community gardens or anything other than a radical restructuring of our tax code. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t benefits. My colleagues at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future looked closely at urban agriculture and found that it: 1. Significantly increased social capital, community well-being and civic engagement 2. Provides a number of ecosystem services to urban areas, (e.g. one pound of food production displaces two pounds of carbon)

Green Fire Times • October 2017

3. Supports participants’ physical and psychosocial health 4. Supplements household food security 5. Is associated with increased property values 6. Offers opportunities for skills development, workforce training and supplemental income. 7. Reduces obesity, crime and municipal maintenance costs Of course, skeptics abound. Spokespersons for “Big Agriculture” have turned their noses up at so-called “utopian farmers” whose holdings are so small they can barely support a rototiller. But with a billion of the globe’s people hungry, a billion undernourished and another billion obese, conventional forms of agriculture have hardly earned bragging rights. Let ’s consider myth number three: Community gardeners don’t need to work on public policy. Over 150 years ago, Abraham Lincoln, speaking in favor of the newly formed land grant university system and the Department of Agriculture, said, “Our population [will] increase [which makes] the most valuable of all arts…the art of deriving a comfortable subsistence from the smallest area of soil. No community whose every member possesses this art can ever be the victim of oppression. Such a community will be

Los Angeles added another dimension to municipal support for urban farming with an ordinance that allows property owners to lease their land to food growers in return for tax benefits. The ordinance is designed to turn vacant pieces of land into productive urban garden and farm plots to produce food for surrounding neighborhoods. My message boils down to this: • T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t w o r d i n “community gardening” is “community.” • Work with other groups and interests, recognizing that you are stronger together than you are alone. • Engage government; the people and the policymakers must be on the same page. This is what they call democracy. • If you don’t belong to a food policy council, join one. • Create a message that unifies your work and speaks to the proven benefits of community gardening. • Poverty is the cause of hunger; we must eliminate poverty to end income and wealth inequality. ■ Mark Winne is the co-chair of the Santa Fe Fo o d Po l i c y Council and senior advisor at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. His forthcoming book is Stand Together or Starve Alone: Unity and Chaos in the U.S. Food Movement. Website address for local community gardens and resources: https:// milagrocommunitygarden.wordpress.com/ community-garden-resources/

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GROWING a RESILIENT REGIONAL FOOD SYSTEM julie sullivan

eorge, my husband and business partner, likes to start presentations with the question, “How many of you are involved in agriculture?” Unless he’s speaking at a soil health or farming conference, only one or two hands go up in the air. Then he asks, “How many of you eat?” If you eat, you are involved in agriculture. The locavore “Know Your Food” revolution grows strong and bouncy like a well-fed colt. Yet, for all the interest in real and regional food, most eaters still know little about the challenges farmers and ranchers face. A resilient regional food system is all about partnership. One of the joys of an agrarian life is the palpable partnership with the planet we experience every day. Everything

we do is about partnership. We’re partners with the cows, sun, grass and soil microbes; partners with the harriers that hunt our hay piles all winter and the eagles eating carcasses in the spring. We are partners with our customers. We need each other—consumers and producers. We need to understand one another’s challenges. Cranky ranchers must recognize that working parents haven’t time to slow-cook a roast during the work week; they need convenience, at least some of the time. The weary urbanite needs to realize a farmer toils endlessly and may still lose his or her crop to a hailstorm or to the more insidious unpredictability of climate change. And they need to know that according to the USDA, on average, only 15.6 cents of each food dollar makes its way back to the farmer or rancher.

Consumers and producers are both harmed by lack of transparency in the current food system, be it political and industry resistance to countr y-ofor igin labeling or the growing confusion of claims and certifications telling you this package of green beans will fix your car and your cholesterol levels.

“Alice in Cornland” — A farm in the Gila region of southern New Mexico

Our human delight in new flavors and foods, as well as our demand that our favorite familiar foods be available year-round, places impossible demands on our growing season and farmers.

Green Fire Times • Oc tober 2017

We’ve lost much, when it comes to the infrastructure of a smaller-scale functional food system, from processing and distribution to vibrant rural economies. The resulting system makes potatoes from Idaho cheaper in New Mexico than those grown 200 miles north in the San Luís Valley, a place whose climate, culture, geomorphology and water are intimately connected to the rest of the Río Grande Valley watershed. A regional food system is vital to growers.The grassfed beef world offers insight into how dearly we ranchers need it. In this country, grassfed beef sales increased 40 percent from 2014 to 2015. Over 80 percent of total sales are imported beef. How can cattle raised in Uruguay, barged to the U.S. and processed here be cheaper at the store than beef from the rancher down the road from you? While the global market shifts and customers search for prices they can afford, we ranchers commit two years in advance to raise certified organic, grassfed beef. We scale up to meet demand, only to find that our pioneering risks to raise this food are suddenly all for naught.

Certified organic cattle ranch in the San Luís Valley, Colorado

meals away from anarchy, meaning people will abide by the law until they are truly hungry. It’s unwise to dismantle large stores when we haven’t the infrastructure to replace the efficient ways multitudes of people access their food. For example, the dearth of processing plants makes it all but impossible for our ranch to feed our neighbors. Small processors were closed decades ago, as the consolidation of animal agriculture into a few megacorporations resulted in USDA rules that cater to large processors. Many rules have little to do with humane slaughter, cleanliness, or zoning; they focus on paperwork and a private office for a USDA inspector, space a small plant can’t provide. The honorable skills of turning all of an animal into food are almost gone. Without regional facilities to grind grains to flour or turn animals into meat, the food system we want will elude us.

A resilient regional food system is all about partnership.

Farmers’ markets and direct sales alone won’t build this system. Farmers and ranchers are often far from towns large enough to make direct marketing profitable. Our ranch has a 100-mile round-trip drive to a farmers’ market. Our customers loved our beef and bought weekly, even during the economic recession beginning in 2008. But we still drove steaks and roasts round-trip too many Saturdays, and many weeks didn’t cover our gas and labor costs. Currently, retail stores lack the structure to purchase from individual farms and ranches that aren’t able to produce the volume of zucchini or chickens needed. An oft-quoted statistic is that we are seven

There are seeds and sprouts of this new system. Networks of distribution and transportation systems like La Montañita’s Co-op Distribution Center are critical to a regional food system. Regional centralization can greatly decrease the fossil fuel miles food travels; one large truck full of food uses less gas than multiple small pickups driving carrots from farm to town. Rather than fight over customers and undercut one another, many ranchers now band together in cooperatives and organizations, like Sweet Grass Co-op (of which we are co-founders) and Southwest Grassfed Livestock Association to market collectively, build farm-to-table initiatives, and educate ourselves as land stewards and entrepreneurs. From soil conservation groups to growers associations, those who grow food recognize that much of the harm done to the planet comes from agriculture, and we practice a land ethic that gives back to the soil we all depend upon.

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Everyone can do something. Don’t let the enormity of the problem keep you from finding your small percentage of the solution. Focus on what is within your discretion, not on what you can’t change. What can you do, today, to act personally to create or support the food system you want? What can you do in the next two weeks? Now, go do it. The system you want starts with you. ■

Julie Sullivan and her husband George W hitten o wn and manage a certif ied organic cattle ranch in the San Luís Valley of Colorado. She is the founding mentor of the Quivira Coalition’s New Agrarian Program and a former university professor of environmental studies.

FOOD SYSTEM INVESTMENTS BOOST REGIONAL ECONOMIES

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors, in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the U.S.D.A’s agencies of Rural Development and the Agricultural Marketing Service, has released Harvesting Opportunity: The Power of Regional Food System Investments to Transform Communities, a compilation of new research, essays and reports that explore the potential for the growing popularity of locally sourced food harnessed to boost economic opportunities for rural and urban communities. New Mexico Department of

Agriculture table at New Mexico AgFest

“Regional food systems represent a promising avenue for economic growth through the creation of new or the enhancement of existing jobs and businesses,” say Federal Reserve Board Gov. Lael Brainard and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard in the book’s foreword. “With appropriately targeted policies and support, the attendant opportunities can advance the economic and financial security of low- and moderate-income households and communities.” Contributors include experts from the U.S.D.A., financial institutions, universities, nonprofits, philanthropic organizations and more. The book covers topics such as: • P Prospects available in the regional food systems sector, • Ho How to advance efforts to provide meaningful earnings and job opportunities for low- and moderate-income households and communities, • V Vital partnerships that are key for deploying knowledge and capital to support the sector’s continued growth, • Examples of comm communities that have used regional food strategies to advance economic and other community goals, and • Models of collaboration between policymakers, practitioners and the financial community. The book also shows how improved access to healthier foods can boost community health and lead to a more productive workforce. For more information, visit www.stlouisfed.org/harvestingopportunity

“HOMEGROWN” EVENT SHOWCASES NEW MEXICO FOOD PRODUCTS

Food produced in New Mexico will be showcased at the fourth annual HomeGrown: A New Mexico Food Show & Gift Market, Nov. 18-19 at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces. The museum is partnering with the New Mexico Department of Agriculture to present the event. Sixty growers and businesses will be represented. Some items offered for sampling: salsas, baked goods, sauces, honey, produce, jerky, candy, cheese, beans, pecans, pistachios and wine. New Mexico crafts will also be represented. Many of the vendors are members of NMDA’s Taste the Tradition and Grown with Tradition programs. Some of the enterprises previously featured: Kianna’s Chile Products (vegan mango salsa, Laos chile paste) and Valley Gurlz Goodz, of Albuquerque (pickled vegetables); Andele’s Restaurant and Ol’ Gringo, from Las Cruces (pecan pie, salsa and gift sets); and Jesusita’s Salsa Fresca, of Cimarrón. A few of the new vendors: Jinglebob Land & Cattle Company, of Anthony; Mesquite Willie’s Desert Products (mesquite flour, Southwest seasonings, barbecue rubs); and Morrow Farms, of Hatch (pinto beans). The market will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 19. Admission is $5 per vehicle. For more info, call 575.522.4100.

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Green Fire Times • Oc tober 2017

WHAT ARE FOOD POLICY COUNCILS?

Join In and Make a Difference Pam Roy and Helen Henry

or most people the question of where their food comes from stops when they enter their local supermarket. There, on the carefully stocked shelves, are rows and rows of food and related items. Easy. But if you looked at all of the factors that influenced where that food comes from and the choices that were made in the process, you would find a more complex story. The truth is, your local supermarket is the tip of the iceberg. We all know that somehow, somewhere, farmers are growing food, but most of us are removed from the process. Recent emphasis on labeling where food comes from (in fact, even what county it comes from) helps to give some context, but the process is still very abstract. Enter the local food policy council. The purpose of a food policy council is to provide an integrated approach, involving government, non-profits and food and farming businesses in a common effort to improve the availability of safe and nutritious food at reasonable prices for all residents, particularly those in need. But it doesn’t stop there. Having access to good nutritious food is equally important. Transportation, affordability and availability of healthy food are all part of the factors in which food policy councils can play a role in creating a comprehensive food system. Examples of this include the Santa Fe

Food Policy Council’s support for the new Mercado del Sur, a farmers’ market on the southside of Santa Fe. Southside residents can now have easier access to fresh, locally grown produce in season. This, coupled with the Fresh RX program, a pilot project of the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market in partnership with La Familia Health Clinic, gives people an incentive to shop at the farmers’ market for fresh fruits and vegetables. The “Fresh Rx” or prescription for fresh produce is like a coupon given by healthcare providers and is redeemable at farmers’ market. More than 345,000 children in New Mexico participate in school nutrition programs. Through the New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council’s work on federal policy change, schools can now buy fresh fruits and vegetables from New Mexico farmers, providing students with fresh local options, while meeting federal school meal guidelines. These are just some examples of how organizations and agencies can work together to build integrated approaches to both creating sustainable income for farmers and connecting people with fresh healthy food at the source. At the heart the work of food policy councils is partnering with numerous stakeholders throughout the community to understand problems that can be changed through coordinated policy and advocacy efforts.

FARM to SCHOOL MONTH

October is National Farm to School Month, a time to celebrate the connections happening all over the country between children and local food. From taste tests in the cafeteria and nutrition education activities in the classroom, to farm visits and school garden harvest parties, school, early care and education sites, farms, communities and organizations in all 50 states and D.C. join in the celebrations. Schools across New Mexico engage in educational activities, school gardens, and farmers’ fresh fruits and vegetables in schools meals from Grady and Corona to Los Lunas, Santo Domingo Pueblo, Bernalillo, Las Cruces, Española, Albuquerque and Santa Fe. National Farm to School Month was designated by Congress in 2010 to demonstrate the growing importance of farm to school programs as a means to improve child nutrition, support local economies and educate children about the origins of food. Join the celebration of National Farm to School month and its network in New Mexico. For information about programs in your community, contact Kendal Chávez, Farm to School director: Kendal@farmtotablenm.org, www.farmtoschool.org

2017 New Mexico Farm to School and Markets awardees at Food and Farms Day and School Nutrition Day at the New Mexico Legislature

Green Fire Times • October 2017

2017 Organization of the Year, La Plazita Institute, from the South Valley of Albuquerque. La Plazita director Albino García (far right) and José Luís with some of the team members; Center: Food Professional of the Year Barbara Berger, health and nutrition specialist with Las Cruces Public Schools

This can result in overarching goals and recommendations that affect decision and policy makers, and help streamline systems of distribution and influence buying patterns. The overall goal is healthy food and a healthy economy. ■ Pam Roy, executive director and Helen Henry director of communications of Farm to Table, provide coordination for the Santa Fe and New Mexico Food Policy Councils. Contact pam@farmtotablenm.org. More information can be found at www.santafefoodpolicy.org and www.farmtotablenm.org. Join the New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council,

Farm to Table and the New Mexico School Nutrition Association for “New Mexico Food and Farms Day, New Mexico School Nutrition Day and the New Mexico Farm to School Awards at the 2018 Legislature,” Jan. 23, 2018. For information, contact: Pam Roy, Farm to Table and the New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council, pam@farmtotablenm.org and Kendal Chávez, Farm to School Director, Farm to Table, kendal@farmtotablenm.org

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James H. Auerbach, MD and Staff support Green Fire Times in its efforts to bring about a better world by focusing on the people, enterprises and initiatives that are transforming New Mexico into a diverse and sustainable economy. SoMe oF THe TopicS GreeN Fire TiMeS SHowcASeS: Green: Building, products, Services, entrepreneurship, investing and Jobs; renewable energy, Sustainable Agriculture, regional cuisine, ecotourism, climate Adaptation, Natural resource Stewardship, Arts & culture, Health & wellness, regional History, community Development, educational opportunities James H. Auerbach, MD provides dermatology services in Santa Fe, NM (Sorry, we are no longer accepting new clients.)

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Green Fire Times â&#x20AC;˘ October 2017

present Getting Beyond the Climate Argument: Plugging Into Solutions

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BREAD WINNERS and BREAD MAKERS: SANTA FE WOMEN and FOOD

Cydney Martin

ith the celebration of World Food Day on Oct. 16, it seems appropriate to explore the subject of how food and economics are integrally entwined, particularly for women, who often find innovative ways of bringing these two things full circle. Icaught up with two women, Melissa Willis and Ellen Zachos, to hear their thoughts on food, advocacy and making a difference. Cydney Martin: World Food Day, which is a program of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, has set the goal of Zero Hunger by 2030. Would you share areas of your work that you consider to be most significant to making this happen? Mellisa Willis: The Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) program at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market is designed to improve the health and nutrition of low-income families and increase their access to healthy, local food by doubling Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. In 2016, over $220,000 SNAP and DUFB dollars were spent at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market alone, providing over 600,000 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables to our local families. With close to 20 percent of Santa Fe County’s population living below the poverty line, not only does this program have a positive impact on individuals and their families; it’s also incredibly beneficial to our economy by keeping dollars local and directly supporting the farmers and ranchers who work tirelessly to provide the freshest, most nutrient-dense foods possible. Ellen Zachos: I like that the theme for World Food Day this year focuses on migration, food security and rural development because all of these things relate to foraging.

Cydney Martin is the Santa Fe County Family and Consumer Sciences agent for NMSU. She’s a fourth-generation farmer, an Aging-in-Place specialist, a Master Food Preserver, and a member of the Santa Fe Food Policy Council.

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If you look at food in different cultures you’ll notice that many of the plants we consider weeds are cultivated as food crops. Yet most Americans see these plants as having no use at all. Many wild edible plants are plentiful, easy to harvest, and require no time or money to cultivate. Foraging offers people the chance to feed themselves well. And it exposes us to foods from other cultures. CM: What is the biggest mistake you’ve made in your food journey? MW: I think the biggest mistake I’ve made is thinking that the journey is a straight line. As with everything, there are twists and turns and bumps in the road. Practicing patience with myself when I eat poorly, or purchase chunks of my weekly groceries from “big box” stores instead of 100 percent from local sources has become necessary as I allow for an evolution of eating to happen. A few years ago my family undertook what we called the Local Bite Challenge, where we challenged ourselves to eat 100 percent locally (food sourced from within 100 miles) for 100 days, with a set spending limit per week. This opened my eyes to what locally grown foods we have available to us, as well as what’s not available. It also opened my eyes to how expensive eating 100 percent local can be, and how disheartening that fact can be, given the bigger picture challenges that come along with it. EZ: I ate a lot of crap when I was young. I didn’t realize how important it was to know where your food comes from and what you’re putting in your body. Food was very connected to body image, and loving food made me feel guilty, because I somehow thought that eating was bad or forbidden. I’d eat stuff with chemicals in it because it had fewer calories, not realizing that that was not a healthy

Melissa Willis is the program director at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute. You can follow her path of food adventures at evergrowingfarm.com

choice. Now I understand that if you eat real, good food, and live a healthy lifestyle, that’s what’s important. Food is nurturing on so many levels. It’s communal. I love cooking with friends, gathering food together and eating together. I appreciate unique, unbuyable flavors. Foraged flavors are unlike anything you’ll find in a store. I enjoy everything from the harvest to the prep and eating. To me, it’s a great joy to feed other people freely. To make food that pleases and delights my friends and family— that’s enormously satisfying! CM: What made you take the leap into your profession with food? MW: A little over a decade ago, in fairly rapid succession, I read Harvest for Hope by Jane Goodall and then had the pleasure of hearing her speak. Harvest for Hope provided an important awakening within me about my part in the wide and deepening damage that is being inflicted on this lovely planet of ours. In addition to outlining how dire our situation is, she also offered easy, actionable steps toward softening our footsteps and working to heal our environment (buy a reusable water bottle, eat less meat, grow a few of your own veggies, carpool when you can, etc.). EZ: I was a professional gardener in NYC and loved working with plants, but I primarily worked with ornamentals. My interest gradually shifted to plants that are not just pretty to look at, but also useful and edible. It’s always been important for me to love my work, and as wild food became the thing I’m most passionate about, I decided to make my living teaching people how to safely harvest and cook with wild foods. It’s challenging, because, let’s face it—foraging is a niche subject. But it’s what I love. ■

Ellen Zachos is the author of seven books. She has written about foraging for About.com and is a regular contributor to Edible. com. Her passion for foraging is highlighted in her books The Wildcrafted Cocktail and Backyard Foraging: 65 Familiar Plants You Didn’t Know You Could Eat.

Green Fire Times • October 2017

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IDEAS for COOKING and NUTRITION SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

(ICAN and SNAP PROGRAMS) C ydney M artin

he I CAN (Ideas for Cooking and Nutrition) Program, sponsored and funded by New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service, USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education program, has three nutrition educators in Santa Fe County. The program provides free, hands‐on, needs‐ based education in the areas of healthy food choices, food preparation, food s a f e t y, e x e r c i s e and food resource management. The educators come to a classroom and provide practical, healthy, kid-friendly recipes for children to make at home with limited assistance. The program has been in Santa Fe County for over 30 years. They are the “boots on the ground” that meet participants where they are. Last year they provided oneon-one educational services to 4,076 participants.

“As an ICAN educator I have been able to help many SNAP participants spend their benef its more effectively while making better food choices. The Double Up Food Bucks program at our Santa Fe Farmers’ Markets allows them to buy more fresh fruits and vegetables while staying within a reasonable budget. It also enables them to stretch their SNAP dollars throughout the month, instead of using their allotment up within one or two weeks. For those who still don’t have enough left over for the month, food banks, unfortunately, are the only other option.

With low wages and high rents, food ends up at the bottom of the list.

“Most of my SNAP participants are families with both parents working multiple jobs. Low wages and high rents are usually their main concern. Add car payments, utilities, medical bills, school costs and a wide variety of other expenses to that, and food ends up at the bottom of the list. I also work with many elders on f ixed incomes who need to decide on paying for medicine or paying for food. Most only receive the minimum payment from SNAP; some tell me they only receive $10 a month. Others say they make $10 a month too much to qualify. A few are caring for grandchildren and need to work part-time jobs to keep up. “I know of at least two participants who became gravely ill and were not able to keep their jobs. They do qualify for SNAP, but it is not enough to feed them for the month. In these sorts of cases, I have referred them to food banks, which is where I now frequently see them.

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Janette Segura provides hands-on education about fresh vegetables and gardening to young residents at Camino Jocobo Housing.

”One day I was at a lunch site for senior citizens and someone told me that she only got $15 a month in SNAP benef its. She lives in the northern part of the county, and she said her father left her some land when he died, which is why she received so little money. She said it was hard to afford food, adding: ’You can’t eat land…’ “Anytime I am doing ICAN programming I hear people lament, without prompting, that the SNAP benef its they receive are not nearly enough to last through the month. Many of the people I am referring to have disabilities that prevent them from working, or they are advanced in age and unable to work anymore. “There is one man who is elderly and caring for his disabled wife. Every month I see him at Commodities as well as at a local food pantry.” — Renee Zisman Cydney Martin is the Santa Fe County Family and Consumer Sciences agent for New Mexico State University and a member of the Santa Fe Food Policy Council.

Two Educators’ SNAP Stories

“I take SNAP applications with me everywhere I go, and give out, on average, at least f ive a month.” — Janette Segura

Luz López, from Nambé, who sells her produce with her husband, José, at the Española Farmers’ Market, is a repeat Chile Fest cook-off winner.

Green Fire Times • October 2017

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WHEN an APPLE a DAY IS NOT ENOUGH

Juan López

e have all heard “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” but what is this trying to convey, and is the message of value to the average person? In its essence, “an apple a day…” alludes to that, if an individual eats healthier, that person will be healthier. But what happens when that apple is not accessible, or if it is, how can it be prepared in a way that is healthy and flavorful to people who do not like apples? The South Valley of Albuquerque, New Mexico, has long been a place where culture, tradition and food have intersected. Like many places, shifting systems of food production have impacted diets, lifestyles and community health. While in the not-too-distant past, an agrarian lifestyle was the norm in the South Valley, the community is now considered to be a food desert, where healthy foods are not available. However, efforts have been undertaken to support activities and programs that can lead to permanent systemic changes that support rebuilding local food systems

sale at the MFM are traditional to the South Valley and to markets in general: squash, carrots, onions, tomatoes, corn and peppers of all varieties. In addition, new choices such as kale, chard, garlic scapes and turnips have been introduced. These offerings have elicited questions.“What is this?”and “How do I cook it?” can be heard on most market days. For the past four years, First Choice has hosted and co-coordinated Cooking for Health classes at its South Valley Health Commons clinic classroom. The classes provide solutions on how to cook unfamiliar foods in healthy, relatively quick and tasty ways. While they prioritize making “the healthy choice the easy choice,” the classes also emphasize positive lifestyle changes.They are structured in a way that is conducive to community and family interaction. Along with health discussions and recipe demonstrations, there are stretching, breathing or movement breaks, as well as engaging health-related childcare activities.

Activities and programs that support rebuilding local food systems

By partnering with a South Valley-based farmer-owned cooperative, Agri-Cultura Network/La Cosecha CSA and the Mobile Farmer’s Market (MFM) (funded in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), for the past three years First Choice Community Healthcare has been able to help provide community access to local, organic, seasonal vegetables and fruit. Some of the foods included in CSA bags and on

Each class has a health-related theme—for example, low-fat or low-salt recipes and healthy desserts. A First Choice provider, usually Dr. Will Kaufman, director of Health and Wellness, facilitates a questionand-answer talk that centers on chronic health conditions related to diet and exercise or lack thereof. Often through their questions, class participants shape the discussion and receive answers to the questions that most concern them.

HEALTHY HERE MOBILE FARMERS’ MARKET

The Healthy Here Mobile Farmers’ Market is part of a collaborative led by Presbyterian Healthcare Services Center for Community Health and the Bernalillo County Community Health Council, in partnership with community organizations interested in increasing access to fresh produce in the South Valley and International District neighborhoods of Bernalillo County. The market travels to six locations offering recipes, cooking demonstrations, food tastings and fresh produce from local farms. In 2016, the market sold over $15,000 worth of produce to more than 1,000 community members. In addition to improving food access and promoting health education, the market also supports local famers by being a consistent resource for distribution of harvested produce. The Healthy Here Mobile Farmers’ Market will continue traveling around Albuquerque until the end of the growing season

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CONTINUED ON PAGE 29

THE AGRI-CULTURA NETWORK Helga García Garza

The Agri-Cultura Cooperative Network (ACN), based in Albuquerque’s South Valley, aggregates, processes, distributes and sells locally grown produce to help ensure that healthy food is accessible and affordable to low-income families that might otherwise be struggling with poor nutrition or hunger. Río Abajo and Río Arriba communities have a long cultural tradition of earth-friendly agricultural practices. This legacy has inspired and driven ACN’s work and has allowed the organization to become community-driven. Since 2009, the network has become one of the region’s leading farmer cooperatives. It now has an established record of capacity building for farmers, who greatly benefit from shared infrastructure and equipment, collective purchasing of supplies, as well as aggregating produce, processing, sales and distribution. ACN also offers small-business training. In 2017, in partnership with Bernalillo County Open Space, AGN offered its first season of “Grow the Growers,” a farm-training program on land adjacent to the historic Gutiérrez-Hubbell house. La Cosecha CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), an innovative project of ACN, in six years, has grown from providing 20 families with weekly fresh produce bags to providing 350 families during a 20-week season. Last year there were eight distribution sites; this season there are 17. Community-based partner organizations easily access and distribute subsidized local produce, along with nutrition education. This helps families build confidence in preparing healthy foods and increase healthy behavior. It has also created economic opportunities in communities that are served. The Healthy Here Mobile Farmers’ Market, another AGN program, offers affordable produce in the South Valley, the International District and other areas, also plays a role in establishing steady, alternative markets for local farmers and allied farms. Helga García Garza, an organic farmer, is co-director of the Agricultura Cooperative Network/La Cosecha. She oversees food access and health operations, program development and collaborations/partnerships. Call 505.217.2461 or visit http://agri-cultura.org

on Oct. 31. All forms of payment including food stamps are accepted. (Get twice as much for the same price with Double Up Food Bucks.) Healthy Here Mobile Farmers’ Market Schedule: Mondays/International District

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Some of the mobile market’s local suppliers: Joseph Alaro of Valle Encantado Farms; Inset, top: Red Tractor Farms; bottom: Casa Grande Farms

Green Fire Times • October 2017

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When an Apple a Day Is Not Enough continued from page

The first recipe covered during a class may be a healthy liquado drink. These can include infused water, smoothie and nut milks. Then there may be two or three food recipes, which may be as simple as a kale chip demonstration or as advanced as plant-based tamales. The recipes introduce meals such as a quinoa-nopal salad, and demonstrate how to substitute healthier ingredients and/or cooking methods in preparing traditional dishes. The class also incorporates “active living” activities such as yoga,stretching,deep breathing and mindfulness exercises. Participants receive prizes at dance contests. During these activities, parents and grandparents are up and down checking on their little ones. Even with the onsite childcare activities, the class is designed to be intergenerational so that health and wellness techniques and resources can be integrated within the whole family.

The classes would not be as successful without the partner organizations. BlueCross BlueShield-NM, HKHF and Presbyterian Healthcare Services have provided funding; Cooperativa Korimi, Inc. has worked on outreach; ACCESS contributes to childcare; the Agri-Cultura Network/La Cosecha contributes food and facilitation. And there are many community volunteers. While eating an apple a day may be a good start, improving health and wellness works best with a process that involves many partners and engages community members in taking an active role. ■ Juan López is First Choice Community Healthcare’s South Valley Commons coordinator. For more information, call 505.873.7400 or visit www.fcch.com

BERNALILLO COUNTY AND KIDS COOK! LAUNCH “FÜDRR” HEALTHY LIFESTYLE COMPETITION

This month, Kids Cook! is launching the fūdrr (“fooder”) pilot project in downtown Albuquerque. Fūdrr users earn fresh produce at local retailers. Fūdrr coupons are redeemable at the downtown Silver Street Market. Through October, the coupons will also be accepted at Health Here Mobile Farmers Market in six locations throughout the International District and the South Valley. By signing up for fūdrr in October, people will receive 100 bonus points. Presbyterian Healthcare Services’ Center for Community Health sponsored the development of the fūdrr bilingual, healthy lifestyle web app. The project’s anchor partners are the Bernalillo County Wellness Program, Downtown Arts & Cultural District, NM Health Care Takes on Diabetes/Prescription Trails, and Presbyterian Healthcare Service. The UNM Anderson School of Business is a supporter through its Small Business Initiative. Kids Cook! is seeking additional fūdrr redemption sites and sponsors. Füdrr • Rewards users for posting healthy eating and active living photos and videos • Allows points to be donated to other fūdrr user and local schools • Creates “healthy” competition among individuals, families, neighborhoods, schools and communities • Provides a tool for healthcare partners and sponsors to motivate their members and patients to adopt healthier lifestyles • Facilitates collaboration among healthcare, government, school, food retailers and other business partners interested in fun, family-friendly, on-line challenges that provide positive brand name recognition • Brings customers to fūdrr retail sponsors • Offers customized healthy lifestyle campaigns for specific high-risk cohorts, such as people with diabetes or heart disease • Promotes positive business branding through sponsored, location-based outreach campaigns and contests • Includes powerful analytical, HIPPA-compliant data tools tool to motivate and track healthy eating and active living activities • Provides detailed user analytics About Kids Cook!

Founded in 2001, Kids Cook! has provided healthy eating, cooking and active living programming for over 40,000 students in low-income schools. Kids Cook! has expanded its reach to helping families and the general public. For additional information, email Mary Meyer, Kids Cook! director: mary. meyer@kidscook.us

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HOSPITAL PROGRAM OFFERS KIDS FREE HEALTHY MEALS

In New Mexico, one in four children struggles with hunger, according to Feeding America. And the evidence is clear—when children have access to healthy, nutritious food they earn better grades and test scores, their ability to focus improves, and they are less likely to miss school. Healthy food is also critical for overall health. As part of its commitment to improving communities’ health, Presbyterian Healthcare Services provides support for cooking classes, farmers’ market incentive programs, a mobile farmers’ market and community gardens. And in February 2016, Presbyterian began offering another option to connect the community to healthy food. Inside its four hospitals—Plains Regional Medical Center in Clovis, Socorro General Hospital, and Presbyterian Hospital and Presbyterian Kaseman Hospital (both in Albuquerque)—children have access to a free, healthy meal or snack any day of the week. They do not need to qualify for the program; it is open to all throughout the year. As of Sept. 1, 2017, the hospitals had provided more than 15,200 meals. The meal program is a partnership between Presbyterian Healthcare Services, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service Southwest Region and the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department. The USDA operates the federally funded, state-administered Child and Adult Care Food Program during the school year and the Summer Food Service Program in the summer to serve healthy meals to kids and teens in low-income areas. Meal Program Hours: • Presbyterian Hospital Daily: meal, 1 p.m.–7 p.m., snack, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. • Presbyterian Kaseman Hospital Monday–Friday: meal, 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m., snack, 1 p.m.–4:30 p.m. • Socorro General Hospital Monday-Friday: meal, 9 a.m.– 1:30 p.m., snack, 1:30 a.m.–4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday: meal, 9 a.m.- 1:30 p.m. • Plains Regional Medical Center Daily: meal, 11 a.m.– 7 p.m.

GROW THE GROWERS IN BERNALILLO COUNTY Farm Training and Business Acceleration

Grow the Growers is a comprehensive, multi-year farm training and business acceleration program designed to attract new and emerging farmers into professional food production. Bernalillo County and its program partners (Agri-Cultura Network, McCune Charitable Foundation, Thornburg Foundation and New Mexico State University) seek to strengthen the local food economy by nurturing the next generation of food entrepreneurs through providing educational support in the form of workshops, in-field and on-farm internships, paid stipends for fulltime interns, small-business mentoring and access to affordable land and water. The Grow the Growers program is based at the historic Gutiérrez-Hubbell House History and Cultural Center in the South Valley. In order to learn from diverse farm production and business operation methods, Grow the Growers interns also work with partner farms to enhance their educational experiences. According to the county, between 80 and 90 percent of fresh fruit and vegetables consumed in the Albuquerque area are grown outside of New Mexico. Despite its rich agrarian history, the South Valley is home to many families in need of better access to locally grown, healthy food. Food grown by Grow the Growers interns is distributed to 350 local families through La Cosecha CSA, a community supported agriculture initiative of Agri-Cultura. Sixty-five percent of families receiving weekly food shares do so at subsidized rates. Proceeds are returned to the Grow the Growers program to support future cohorts of the farm training and business acceleration program. For more information, call 505.314.0399 or email growthegrowers@gmail.com

Green Fire Times • October 2017

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SANTA FE FARMERS’ MARKET COOKBOOK

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Vibrant photos of northern New Mexico farms, farmers and the goods they produce and sell at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market complement more than 100 recipes collected from growers and market patrons in Douglas Merriam’s new Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Cookbook. Organized by seasons, each step on the journey from farm to market is told in a series of essays by travel writer Lesley S. King. There are stories of seed-to-table, wholesome meals that cooks can recreate in their own kitchens wherever they live, using mostly farmers’ market ingredients. It is not strictly a regional cookbook. Two hundred of Merriam’s photos provide context in the “part cookbook, part history book, part photo book” by exploring the relationships among farmer, food and land. The book is only available online at www. farmfreshjourney.com and at the farmers’

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Green Fire Times • Oc tober 2017

In a disaster scenario, where would you turn for clean drinking water? In the last decade, natural disasters occurring in human populated areas have increased in both frequency and intensity. These events often incapacitate vital infrastructure, including essential potable water delivery systems and utility services. Disasters also debilitate access to critical medical care and equipment. There is an urgent need to deploy immediate, temporary relief of life saving water and services in areas affected by such disasters.

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Green Fire Times • October 2017

Santa Fe Workshop Schedule September/November, 2017

SFBI – 3900 Paseo Del Sol, Santa Fe September – WESST/SFBI 9 Beginning Excel/SOLD OUT 14 Negotiating for Women 6-8 21 Start-up Rules and Regs 6-8 23 Intermediate Excel /SOLD OUT 28 Social Media/Small Biz 9:30-12 30 Financials/Small Biz 9 -12 October – WESST/SFBI 5 Basic Website Dev 9:30-12 12 Marketing Basics 6-8 13 Life Savings 9-12 17 Nat’l Women’s Biz Week 9-11 19 Pricing for Profit 6-8 26 Creating Perfect Pitch 5:30-8 November – WESST/SFBI 4 Legal Clinic 10-2 7 Perfect Pitch for Women 9-12 9 Evaluating Show Submissions 10-2 30 Budgeting for the New Year 9-12 SFCCCG–201 Marcy Street, Santa Fe 10/20 Financials for Artists 10-2 10/27 Cash Flow for Artists 10-2 11/10 Advanced Etsy 10-4 11/17 Advanced Etsy 10-4 To Register/Details Contact:

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NEWSBITEs NEW MEXICO “AGTECH” ACCELERATOR TO HOST NATIONAL COMPETITION

Arrowhead Center is New Mexico State University’s entrepreneurial hub. AgSprint, Arrowhead Center’s agriculture technology-focused accelerator, graduated its first cohort of five “agtech” startups from around the country in August. In November, AgSprint will host Future Agro Challenge’s first U.S. national competition, in Las Cruces. Ten startups in food retail, food production, food sustainability, nutrition and health and other areas will compete in pitch challenges and other tests. The best startup, chosen by venture capitalists from around the country, will move on to the international Future Agro Challenge competition in Istanbul, Turkey. The goal of that challenge is “to foster a community of agro visionaries, startups, farmers, manufacturers and distributors from across the world so they can start a global conversation,” according to Future Agro’s website. Revolution Agriculture One of AgSprint’s teams, Revolution Agriculture, an Albuquerque-based agtech company founded in 2016, was the only U.S.-based startup out of more than 50 companies to participate in the finals of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress Future Agro Challenge, in Johannesburg, South Africa, earlier this year. Revolution Agriculture is focused on the challenges of global food insecurity as well as corporate sustainability. Founder/CEO, Richard Brion, says that the company’s closed-system, modular, organic farms produce eight times the yield per square foot of conventional farms, run 100 percent on renewable energy and use 90 percent less water. Brion’s concerns with social responsibility, drought and water access drive his desire to work with tribal governments in New Mexico to implement Revolution Agriculture’s systems locally, as a means for rural communities to improve access to nutritious foods and economic opportunities. Brion expects his farms will eventually sell produce to retailers, targeting the estimated $161-billion nationwide unmet demand for local, organic produce.

CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY DIRECTOR SPEAKS IN NEW MEXICO ABOUT GE CROPS

Genetically Engineered (GE) foods, which have only been around in recent decades, are produced by transferring genes between organisms. The resulting organisms— either plant or animal–— do not otherwise occur in nature. The U.S. and Canada have embraced GE food crops, while Europe has broadly rejected them. An in-depth examination published in 2016 by The New York Times, analyzing academic and industry research, as well as independent data comparing results on the two continents, found that GE crops, which the agrichemical giants have touted as being key to feeding the world, have largely failed to achieve two of the technology’s primary objectives: to increase crop yields and decrease pesticide use. Speaking in Santa Fe recently, Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., said, “Why would the industry spend hundreds of millions of research dollars and billions in advertising and lobbying to promote crops that actually ‘reduce pesticides?’ Are these companies committing economic suicide in an altruistic attempt to feed the world? Obviously not. The vast majority of GE crops are designed to massively increase herbicide use.” Trangenic ingredients are now found in the majority of nonorganic processed foods. Authoritative medical researchers say that the general public is eating pesticides on a regular basis, with unknown or unacknowledged cumulative health impacts. Animals do not metabolize herbicides that are sometimes used on animal feed crops, so it is passed into manure that may be used in gardens, damaging crops, say Santa Fe gardeners who have had their soil tested. Fish, amphibians and songbirds have also been impacted, and populations of key food crop pollinators, such as bees, have been decimated. Weeds and insects are becoming resistant to the herbicides such as glyphosate (the main ingredient of Monsanto’s RoundUp, deemed a “probable carcinogen” by the World Health Organization in 2015). Pesticide resistant superweeds have farmers using higher and higher amounts and new chemical cocktails of dangerous poisons, degrading soil, contaminating groundwater and food.

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Advocates of sustainable and regenerative agriculture seek to place farming within the context of natural ecosystems using methods such as organic fertilizers, crop rotation and cover crops. A 2015 global study published in the peer-reviewed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that profit margins for organic agriculture are significantly greater than conventional agriculture. An added benefit is that farmers can save their seeds instead of having to buy them each season. Just a small handful of companies now control the vast majority of world seed resources.

CELEBRATE THE SUN AT SOLAR FIESTA IN ABQ

On Oct. 21, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the New Mexico Solar Energy Association will host its Solar Fiesta at the Sawmill Community Land Trust Park Plaza, 997 18th St NW. The event will provide opportunities to learn about the latest in solar technology, energy efficiency and sustainable practices for the home and community, and to take workshops and talk one-on-one with renewable energy and solar educators, passive-solar pioneers and science fair judges. There will be Tesla car rides, educational resources for green initiatives such as water conservation, a solar cook-off, activities for kids, food trucks and local musicians. For more information, visit nmsolar.org Athena Christodoulou, NMSEA’s president, said that part of the organization’s mission is focused on new solutions to help low- and middleincome families find solutions for renewable energy access to their own piece of the sun with “community solar,” sometimes referred to as community solar gardens. “Over the next 15 months,” she said, “NMSEA will be collaborating with the Department of Energy to bring more of these gardens to our state in the SunShot Prize: Solar in Your Community Challenge.” This is a $5-million prize competition that aims to expand solar electricity access to all Americans, including local and tribal governments and nonprofit organizations. NMSEA members are coaching five teams: Sawmill Solar Stars, Movalistas (Española), JMEC SHINE (Española), Atrisco Heritage Academy High School and Santa Fe SunShot. NMSEA is also working to interest high school students in renewable-energy jobs through providing guidance on how to obtain professional certifications. NMSEA’s project at ACE Leadership High School connects students interested in architecture, construction and engineering with thermal solar and photovoltaic professionals.

SQUASH BLOSSOM: SANTA FE’S ONE-STOP MULTI-FARM SOURCE

With Squash Blossom, you can be the chef or let the professionals do it. In addition to offering weekly “Blossom Bags” of veggies for home kitchens, the local foods distributor sells to over 20 restaurants in Santa Fe. If you’re eating at your favorite down-home spot such as La Choza, the salsa in which you’re dipping your chips is made from tomatoes Leslie Moody and Mitch Ackerman prepare a Squash grown by Rancho La Jolla in Blossom local foods supper at Rancho Gallina Inn and Velarde. That fried egg on Eco-Retreat south of Santa Fe. © Gabriella Marks top of your enchilada was laid by chickens in Río Rancho at the Galloping Grace Youth Ranch. Home “Blossom Bags” can be ordered online and custom-filled with your choice of produce, eggs and locally made goodies like kombucha, pickles, honey, jam, mustard and even locally-roasted coffee from Pour Vida Roasters in Albuquerque. All the produce is harvested-to-order and delivered within 36 hours of having been in the ground. If you want to partake in a sumptuous meal and meet the farmers who grow these products, Squash Blossom hosts monthly dinners at rotating locations to feature various restaurants that source locally. To order a Blossom Bag, view a list of restaurants or get tickets to the next Squash Blossom supper (Oct. 19, 6 pm at the State Capital Kitchen), visit: www.squashblossomlocalfood.com

Green Fire Times • October 2017

WHAT'S GOING ON! Events / Announcements ALBUQUERQUE

Oct. 7–8 ABQ AMERICAN INDIAN ARTS FESTIVAL IPCC, 2401 12th NW 50 traditional and contemporary Native artists and dance groups. Admission $8.40/$6.40/$5.40/Children under 5 free. 505.843.7270, www.indianpueblo.org

Through Nov. 11 LONG ENVIRONMENTALISM I N THE NEAR NORTH UNM Art Museum, 1 University of New Mexico A collection of photos and writings by UNM professor Subhankar Banerjee. Closed Sundays and Mondays. Unmartmuseum.org

Oct. 21, 9 am–4 pm SOLAR FIESTA/COMMUNITY FAIR Sawmill Community Land Trust 997 18th St. NW Free family event. nmsolar.org/solarfiesta-2017, See page 37.

Nov. 15–17 QUIVIRA COALITION CONFERENCE Embassy Suites Hotel “Ranching and Farming at the Radical Center.” Conference will bring together thought leaders, agrarian innovators and land stewards. Plenary presentations, roundtable discussions and networking. Post-conference activities and workshops. Discounted rates to beginning ranchers, farmers and students. https:// quiviracoalition.org

Oct. 22, 8:30 am ACEQUIA CELEBRATION/FUN RUN Sánchez Farms, 1180 Arenal SW 8:30 am: registration. 9:15 am: 5K/1K begins. Activities for kids, raffle. Honoring of acequia after fun run. Presented by Center for Social Sustainable Systems. $25/$15 suggested donation supports CESOSS Leadership Institute. 505.300.8357, info@ cesoss.org, www.cesoss.org Oct. 24, 10 am VALUE-ADDED PRODUCER GRANT USDS Rural Dev. State Office, 100 Sun Ave. NE Workshop to learn about planning and working capital grants for farmers, ranchers, co-ops and associations. 505.761.4952, jesse.bopp@nm.usda.gov Oct. 28, 6–9 pm AWARDS GALA & AUCTION IPCC, 2401 12th NW A celebration to support the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women. Reserve tickets by 10/15. $75. 505.243.9199, www.csvan.org Nov. 4, 12:30–2:30 pm HEALTHY WRITING, HEALTHY YOU New Life Presbyterian Church, 5540 Eubank NE Integrating mind, body and soul through writing, yoga and Ayurveda. All levels welcome. $20/$30. www.southwestwriters. com/events/workshops/ Through Nov. 5 OUTSTANDING IN HIS FIELD: SAN YSIDRO NHCC Art Museum, 1701 4th St. SW Contemporary and traditional depictions of the patron saint of farmers & gardeners. More than 65 artists. $6/$5/16 & under free. Nationalhispaniccenter.org Nov. 10–12 INDIGENOUS COMIC CON Isleta Resort Native and indigenous creators, illustrators, writers, designers, actors and producers of comic books, graphic novels, games, sci-fi, fantasy, film & television. Indigenouscomiccon.com Through Nov. 11 CROSS-POLLINATION 516 Arts, 516 Central SW Exhibition at the intersection of art and science, featuring 21 artists from around the world, emphasizing the importance of bees and other pollinators. 505.247.1445, 516arts.org

Nov. 17–19 4TH ANNUAL PUEBLO FILM FEST IPCC, 2401 12th NW The only film fest in the country devoted to the work of Pueblo filmmakers. Screenings, presentations and discussions. 505.843-7270, www.indianpueblo.org/ centerevent/4th-annual-pueblo-film-fest/ First Sundays NM MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 1801 Mountain Road Museum admission is free to NM residents on the first Sunday of every month. 505.841.2800 Saturdays, 1 pm WEEKLY DOCENT-LED TOURS National Hispanic Cultural Center 1701 4th St. SW Tours of different exhibits and themes in the Art Museum. $2-$3, free with museum admission. 505.246.2261, nhccnm.org ABQ 2030 DISTRICT A voluntary collaboration of commercial property tenants, building managers, property owners and developers; real estate, energy, and building sector professionals, lenders, utility companies; and public stakeholders such as government agencies, nonprofits, community groups and grassroots organizers. Property partners share anonymous utility data and best practices. Professional partners provide expertise and services. Public partners support the initiative as it overlaps with their own missions. Info: albuquerque@2030districts.org

SANTA FE

Community Open House Days: 10/7, 10 am–6:30 pm and 10/8, 10:30 am–5 pm. Free. 505.989-1199, sitesf.org Oct. 6, 6:30 pm GUARDIANS GALA SF Farmers’ Market Pavilion WildEarth Guardians benefit dinner. 505.988.9126, ext. 0, www. wildearthguardians.org Oct. 7, 10 am–1 pm AMPERSAND SUSTAINABLE LEARNING CENTER TOUR Demonstration site for sustainable practices, permaculture and associated technologies. 30 minutes from SF. Carpooling available. $39. amanda@ ampersandproject.org, www.sfcc.edu/ce Oct. 7, 5:30 pm GOLDEN TICKET GALA Buffalo Thunder Resort Music, dinner by local chefs, silent and live auctions to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters. $150. 505.395.2809, bbbsmountainregion.org/gala Oct. 7, 5:30–7 pm GUNS TO GARDENS CCA, 1050 Old Pecos Tr. Mayor Javier Gonzales, author Valerie Plame, poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, sculptor Jeremy Thomas and gun violence survivors. Presented by New Mexican to Prevent Gun Violence. Free. http://rawtools.org Oct. 7, 7:30–9 pm YES MEN LIVE The Lensic “The True Story of Fake News” performance by the cultural activists/pranksters. A benefit for the NM Environmental Law Center. $35/$25/$12 students w/ID. 6pm private VIP reception: $100. 505.988.1234, ticketssantafe.org Oct. 7, 8 am–5 pm; Oct. 8, 9 am–4 pm FLEA MARKET FUNDRAISER Women’s Club and Library Association, 1616 Old Pecos Trl. Supports scholarships for women, the public library and other nonprofits. 505.983.9455 Oct. 9, 8 am–5 pm INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY Santa Fe Plaza Dances, singing, drumming, culture-sharing. Nonprofit arts, education and culture organization will have tables and booths. Presented by the City of SF in collaboration with the 23 tribes, nations and pueblos in NM.

Oct. 3, 3–6 pm LEAN STARTUP BOOTCAMP 35˚ North Coffee, 60 E. San Francisco St. Workshop for people interested in starting a business. Sponsored by Regional Development Corp. Facilitated by ABQid. Abqid.com

Oct. 10, 5–8 pm PIÑÓN AWARDS DINNER La Fonda on the Plaza The SF Community Foundation celebrates the work of outstanding nonprofit organizations and dedicated philanthropists. $50. 505.988.9715, www.santafecf.org

Oct. 5–8 SITE SF GRAND RE-OPENING EVENTS 1606 Paseo de Peralta 10/6: Opening. Tickets: $25 and up;

Oct. 11, 6–8 pm ENERGY TALKS Unitarian Church, 107 W. Barcelona Rd.

Green Fire Times • October 2017

Shane Woolbright and Sandrine Gaillard, Ph.D., address global warming, utility regulation, energy conservation and solar energy’s great potential in NM. Presented by the Río Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club. 505.466.8964 Oct. 11, 18, 25 HERBALISM EVENTS 10/11: Moxibustion demo. 10/18, 25: Class on Medicinal barks in the field and the lab. Milagro Herbs. 505.820.6321 Oct. 12, 6 pm FARMER FUNDRAISER SF Farmers’ Market Local foods supper and music to support a tool library for beginning farmers to grow their business. $40. Northern NM Young Farmers Alliance meeting at 4:30 pm. Register: https://farmerfundraiser.eventbrite.com Oct. 12, 7 pm THE LAST SHEPHERDS Violent Crown Cinema Film about northern NM sheepherders Antonio and Molly Manzanares, who, with director Scott Andrews, will be part of a Q&A, thewisdomarchive.com Oct. 12, morning–afternoon ESPAÑOLA BASIN TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP SF Convention Center “SF Watershed from Top to Bottom.” Technical presentations and posters on history, dam and water resource engineering, fire impacts, acequia deliveries, “living river,” water quality, reuse strategies, storm management, etc. $20. at the door (cash only) Registration: https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/ ebtag/workshop/registration/home.cfml Oct. 12–14 ECONOMICS OF HAPPINESS CONFERENCE James A. Little Theater, 1060 Cerrillos Rd. Reconnecting to Our Local Future – Celebrating Diversity and Community. How humans can shift from a globalized system of exploitation towards local cultures and economies that support renewal, resilience and planetary well-being. Presenters: Helena Norberg-Hodge, Winona LaDuke, Arvol Looking Horse, Larry Dossey, Judy Wicks, Craig Childs, Charles Eisenstein, many others. $150/adv. Some discounts available. www.localfutures.org/ Oct. 14, 9 am–1 pm NATURAL BUILDING WITH EARTH AND STRAW SF Community College Class with Amanda Bramble. $39. 505.428.1676, amanda@ampersandproject. org, www.sfcc.edu/ce Oct. 14, 5:30–9 pm HUNGRY MOUTH FESTIVAL Eldorado Hotel Some of SF’s top chefs compete for votes. Benefits St. Elizabeth’s Shelters & Supportive Housing. $150. Tickets: 505.982.6611, ext. 104 or www.steshelter.org Oct. 18–22 SF INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL Screenings, panels and parties. Santafeindependentfilmfestival.com Oct. 21, 9 am–12 pm HARVEST THE SUN: SOLAR DESIGN FOR EVERYDAY LIFE SF Community College Class with Amanda Bramble. $39.

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505.428.1676, amanda@ampersandproject. org, www.sfcc.edu/ce

rl@1st-mile.org, www.internetsociety.org/ events/indigenous-connectivity- summit

Oct. 21, 4:30–6:30 pm STANDING FIERCE FOR FIVE! SITE Santa Fe Women at the Heart of Gender Justice in NM with Maria Hinojosa, host of NPR’s Latino USA. Celebrating the 5th anniversary of NewMexicoWomen.org

Through Feb. 11, 2018 VOICES OF COUNTERCULTURE IN THE SOUTHWEST NM History Museum, SF Plaza Exhibit spans the 1960s and, 70s exploring the influx of young people to NM and the collision of cultures. Archival footage, oral histories, photography, ephemera and artifacts. Curated by Jack Loeffler and Meredith Davidson. http://nmhistorymuseum. org/calendar.php?

Oct. 21, 5:30 pm SF MAYOR’S BALL SF Convention Center, 201 W. Marcy St. Live auction, music by Michael Hearne & South by Southwest and Nosotros. Food by some of SF’s top chefs. Benefits Communities in Schools and the Food Depot. $150. Santafemayorsball2017.org Oct. 28, 9 am–4:45 pm CLIMATE SOLUTIONS SYMPOSIUM Monte del Sol Charter School “Getting Beyond the Climate Argument: Plugging into Solutions.” Conference in SF, ABQ and Las Cruces presented by Citizens’ Climate Education–NM. Speakers from climate action and environmental justice organizations will present their local and national work. Breakout sessions to build a statewide coalition. $18 adv/$25 after 10/21. Includes lunch. Info: 505.577.3917, http://tinyurl.com/2017NMCCL Oct. 31 ARTISTS’ APPLICATION DEADLINE 2018 SF Studio Tour Self-guided free studio tour with artist demonstrations takes place June 16–17 and 23–24. Reception June 8, Community Gallery show June 9–27. santafestudiotour.com Nov. 1, 7–9 pm XERISCAPE GARDENS SF Community College Learn about water-wise landscaping for your yard or garden with Bob Pennington. $25. 505.428.1676, www.sfcc.edu/ce Nov. 2 MAYOR’S SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS Nominations are open. Visit www. santafenm.gov/sustainable_santa_fe_awards to see categories and nomination process. 11/2: Presentation to congratulate 2017 winners. Nov. 4, 8 am–4 pm 18TH ANNUAL CONGRESO DE LAS ACEQUIAS Santa Maria de la Paz Parish Hall 11 College Ave. Annual NM Acequia Assn. meeting. Stories of Enduring Acequias, Testimonies in Defense of Water. Registration $25/$20. before Oct. 27. 505.995.9644, www. lasaceequias.org Nov. 6, 2–6 pm CAMPUS OPEN HOUSE Institute of American Indian Arts 83 A Van Nu Po Rd. Open studios and classrooms, campus tours. Dedication of new Performing Arts and Fitness Center at 3:30 pm. 505..424.2325, https://iaia.edu Nov. 8–9 INDIGENOUS CONNECTIVITY SUMMIT Hotel Santa Fe Free event focused on connecting Indigenous communities to the Internet. Success stories of Indigenous community networks. Panels, presentations, discussions.

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Sundays, 11 am JOURNEY SANTA FE CONVERSATIONS Collected Works Books, 202 Galisteo St. 10/1: NM Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver; 10/8: Nate Downey of SF Permaculture and Ann Filemyr, dean of Southwestern College, will preview the Economics of Happiness Conference; 10/15: Joel Aaberts, new executive director of the Lensic Theater; 10/22: Denise Fort, emerita at UNM Law School and environmental activist; 10/29: Peter De Benedittis, Ph.D., progressive candidate for governor. Hosts: Alan Webber, Bill Dupuy and James Burbank. Free. www.journeysantafe.com Mon.–Sat. POEH CULTURAL CENTER & MUSEUM 78 Cities of Gold Rd., Pueblo of Pojoaque In T’owa Vi Sae’we: The People’s Pottery. Tewa Pottery from the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Nah Poeh Meng: 1,600-sq.-ft. core installation highlighting the works of Pueblo artists and Pueblo history. Poehcenter.org Tues.–Sat. EL MUSEO CULTURAL DE SANTA FE 555 Cam. de la Familia Rotating exhibits, community programs and performances designed to preserve Hispanic culture. Elmuseocultural.org Tues., Sat., 7 am-1 pm; Weds., 3–7 pm SF FARMERS’ MARKET 1607 Paseo de Peralta (& Guadalupe) Tues., 3–6 pm: Plaza Contenta 6009 Jaguar Dr. Northern NM farmers & ranchers offer fresh tomatoes, greens, root veggies, cheese, teas, herbs, spices, honey, baked goods, body-care products and much more. santafefarmersmarket.com Weds.–Sun. SANTA FE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM 1050 Old Pecos Tr. Interactive exhibits and activities. 505.989.8359, Santafechildrensmuseum.org Sat., 8 am–4 pm RANDALL DAVEY AUDUBON CENTER 1800 Upper Canyon Rd. Striking landscapes and wildlife. Bird walks, hikes, tours of the Randall Davey home. 505.983.4609, http://nm.audubon.org/ landingcenter-chapters/visiting-randalldavey-audubon-center-sanctuary Daily SANTA FE BOTANICAL GARDEN 715 Cam. Lejo, Museum Hill Living museum on 14 acres. Ojos y Manos, Orchard Gardens, The Courtyard Gardens and the Arroyo Trails. Santafebotanicalgarden.org

TAOS

Sept. 9, 2 pm Oct. 7–8 34TH ANNUAL TAOS WOOL FESTIVAL Spinning, dyeing, weaving demos and workshops. Exhibition of fine weavings and more. Taoswoolfestival.org Oct. 12–14 TAOS STORYTELLING FESTIVAL 18th annual. Local and visiting artists plus workshops culminating in a “story slam” at Taos Mesa Brewing. Taosstorytellingfestival.com Oct. 19–21 INDIGENOUS FOODS EXPERIENCE Taos Pueblo and Taos See page 11. Through Oct. 27 EARTH BAG BUILDING WORKSHOP Learn to build a sustainable, affordable, off-grid solar home. 575.770.0085, earthandsunsustainablebuilders.com Through Feb. 18, 2008 CORN: SACRED GIVER OF LIFE Millicent Rogers Museum 1504 Millicent Rogers Rd. Images of corn in Native American textiles, pottery, paintings, baskets and jewelry. 575.758.2462, www.millicentrogers.org Third Tues. Monthly, 5:30–8 pm TAOS ENTREPRENEURIAL NETWORK KTAOS Networking, presentations, discussion and professional services. Free. 505.776.7903, www.taosten.org

HERE & THERE

Oct. 2–7 CHURRO WEEK Northern NM Workshops, field trips, films and lectures about the Navajo-Churro sheep. Hosted by Española Valley Fiber Arts Center, Española, NM. 505.747.3577, www.evfac.org Oct. 7, 11, 14, 21, 5:30–8 pm ELK-VIEWING TOURS Valle Caldera National Preserve NM State Rte. 4 Backcountry guided van tours. $38. 505.819.3263, www. losamigosdevallescaldera.org/events Oct. 7–8, 11 am–3 pm WILDLIFE CENTER OPEN HOUSE 19 Wheat St., Española, NM Annual event of nonprofit working to conserve and restore wildlife and habitats. Live animal demos, displays, kids’ activities, tour of rehab hospital, silent auction, refreshments. $5 suggested donation per vehicle. 505.753.9505, dawn@newmexicowildlifecenter.org, www. newmexicowildlifecenter.org Oct. 7–9 ABIQUIÚ STUDIO TOUR Abuquiú, NM 24th annual. More than 50 artists. Abiquiustudiotour.org Oct. 12–14 HISTORIAS DE NUEVO MÉXICO CONFERENCE Northern NM College, Española, NM and Northern Río Grande Heritage Center “Querencia Interrupted: Native American and Hispanic Experience of the Manhattan Project.” Local communities will tell their own

stories. Workers from that era will be honored during the opening reception. 505.852.0030, nmhistorias@nnmc.edu, www.riograndenha. org/historias Oct. 12, 7 pm NASARIO REMEMBERS THE RÍO PUERCO KNME-TV, Ch.5, NM-PBS Broadcast premiere of documentary film by Shebana Coelho about storyteller Nasario García. Oct. 31–31 MISS NAVAJO COUNCIL Navajo Division of Education Auditorium, Window Rock, AZ. Elemental Talks & Dialogue on Land, Water, Air and Fire. www.missnavajocouncil.org Nov. 4–5 DIXON STUDIO TOUR Dixon, NM 505.579.4671, Dixonarts.org Nov. 6–7 REGENERATIVE EARTH SUMMIT University of Colorado, Boulder, CO. Food and agriculture’s potential positive impact on climate change. www. attheepicenter.com/regenerative-earthsummit/ Nov. 18–19, HOMEGROWN: NM FOOD SHOW NM Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum, Las Cruces, NM 60 vendors from around the state. See pg.19 First Mondays each month, 3–5 pm SUSTAINABLE GALLUP BOARD Octavia Fellin Library, Gallup, NM The Sustainable Gallup Board welcomes community members concerned about conservation, energy, water, recycling and environmental issues. 505.722.0039. Mon., Wed., Fri., Sat., 10 am–4 pm PAJARITO ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER 2600 Canyon Rd., Los Alamos, NM Nature center and outdoor education programs. Exhibits of flora and fauna of the Pajarito Plateau; herbarium, live amphibians, butterfly and xeric gardens. 505.662.0460, www.losalamosnature.org First 3 Weds. Ea. Month, 6–7 pm SOLAR 101 CLASSES 113 E. Logan Ave., Gallup, NM Free classes about all things related to off-grid solar systems. No pre-registration necessary. 505.728.9246, gallupsolar@ gmail.com,Gallupsolar.org BASIC LITERACY TUTOR TRAINING Española area After training by the NM Coalition for Literacy, volunteer tutors are matched with an adult student. 505.747.6162, read@raalp. org, www.raalp.org/become-a-tutor.html SPIRIT OF THE BUTTERFLY 923 E. Fairview Land, Española, NM Women’s support group organized by Tewa Women United. Info/RSVP: Beverly, 505.795.8117 WILDLIFE WEST NATURE PARK 87 N. Frontage Rd., Edgewood, NM 122-acre park just east of ABQ. Interactive trail focuses on rescued, non-releasable, native New Mexican wildlife and native plants. http://wildlifewest.org/wwblog/

Green Fire Times • October 2017

conference

Join us for a World-changing Conversation October 12 - 14, 2017 James A. Little Theater at the New Mexico School for the Deaf 1060 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe

Helena Norberg-Hodge Film Director of The Economics of Happiness

Larry Dossey Author of One Mind

Michael Tellinger South African author and politician proponent of Contributionism, Ubuntu Party

Inspiring Speakers â&#x20AC;˘ Cutting-Edge Dialogue Thanks to our sponsors & partners:

Green Fire Times â&#x20AC;˘ Oc tober 2017